1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and more particularly to the organization of data in computer systems.
2. Description of Related Art
The creation and maintenance of program comments that are are embedded in a computer program and are meant to be viewed on the screen by an invocation of the program is a process which is complicated. When programs are written they usually contain comments to explain how to use the program. The comments are usually invoked by a user who enters the program name followed by an argument that refers to a particular set of comments to be displayed.
The program then calls a routine that contains a series of instructions that are displayed to the monitor viewer as text on the screen in response to a "display command" preceding each comment. Such a "display command" tells the computer to display the text (referred to herein interchangeably as "comments") which follows upon the screen. In addition to the "display command", in accordance with the language syntax, where the REXX language is employed, each comment is preceded and followed by a quote.
Editing of comments in a program is difficult because of the punctuation (quotes) required to distinguish comments from commands. The problem is that a program may contain a long list of text to be displayed, which text must be changed occasionally. Because of the need to type the "display command" and the quotes before and after each line of text, it becomes difficult to edit the text. For example the split/join commands (which respectively split a line into two lines or join two consecutive lines) found on most editors leave the "display command" instruction and quotes misplaced in the file.
An object of this invention is simplification of entering and changing the comments that are placed in a program that are used to explain how to use that program in a way that permits editing and updating the comments more simply and faster.
A further object of this invention is to eliminate the need for the "display command" instruction before each comment and to eliminate the need to imbed each comment with quotes, i.e. quotes before and after the text to be displayed to facilitate entry of data and changing of the data entered previously.
Still another object of this invention is to simplify creation of programs and maintenance of program comments that are are imbedded in a computer program, which comments are meant to be viewed on the screen by each invocation of the program.
In accordance with this invention by means of a signal which is not typed at the beginning and the end of each line, the system is told what lines are comments and what lines are not.
Further in accordance with this invention, An a data processing system having display means with a display screen requiring a screen display instruction with each line of textual comments in a file to be displayed on the screen and means for associating comments to be presented on the display screen of a data processing machine with programming data in a sequential format, with means for designating the comments by a label placed before the commencement of the comments, the improvement comprising means for interpreting the label to insert print display command indicia associated with the textual comments for printing the comments upon the display screen. Preferably, the label is interpreted by means of an external program.
Still further in accordance with this invention, the system performs the steps as follows:
a) start,
b) test whether the comment has been read,
i) if yes, run the program and then end, PA1 ii) if no, call the read program,
c) capture read arguments,
d) find locations,
e) read program section,
f) format comments
g) display comments, and
h) end.